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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Magnetic Dogg

Went to see the marvellous Magnetic Fields last night in Chelsea. It's quite an odd set-up they've got – though clearly deep-voiced singer Stephin Merritt's band, it's Claudia Gonson, who sings of a number of the songs, counts the band in and chats to the crowd throughout, who seems to be the onstage leader. Chanteuse Shirley Simms, meanwhile, is silent stage left, except when called upon to deliver her vocals, both wondrously clear and peculiarly strangulated.

'California Girls', led by Simms, has been in my head all day. Here's the band doing it live in LA earlier this year. It seems oddly appropriate that the Simms is off-camera for most of the song (though she drifts into view towards the end).

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For those who think that's all a bit folky, the other tune I've been hitting today is the cracker below, which brings back all sorts of memories of growing up in East Dorset's Colehill projects. Compton Acres, where it's at, yo. Anyway: it's officially impossible to beat the coolness of "Freeze. At ease. Now let me drop some more of them keys." Greatest hip hop riff ever?

I remember "Freeze" was the rather unlikely tune pumping out of our school minibus's speakers as we arrived at Stockbridge Comprehensive to play them at football one year (the content went totally over the games teacher Gregor's head).